Containers carrying flowers, plants, vegetables and the like have traditionally been shipped, stored and displayed for retail sale by means of collapsible steel racks. Large retailers such as warehouse establishments, home improvement stores and garden centers commonly utilize large numbers of these racks. After the plants or other products are sold, the racks are usually collapsed and returned to the supplier for re-use.
Traditional steel shipping and display racks tend to be quite expensive. Moreover, even when these products are collapsed for return, they still tend to take up an undesirably large amount of transport and storage space. This can increase the retailers and/or supplier's costs considerably. In addition, standard display racks utilize posts at the corners of the shelves. This does not provide optimal product support, which can cause the shelves to sag or bow under the weight of the accommodated product. Steel racks are also likely to rust and deteriorate prematurely.
To address the problems exhibited by conventional racks, I have previously provided a table for shipping, storing and displaying products such as pots and trays of flowers and plants. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,434 (hereinafter U.S. Pat. No. '434). That table utilizes a plurality of molded plastic posts that support a series of plywood shelves for accommodating product thereon. Each post is positioned at the center or midsection of each shelf edge. This table is much less expensive and more compactly collapsible than conventional metal racks. Moreover, because the posts are arranged at the midsections of the plywood shelves, stronger support is provided for the accommodated plants or other products.
Although my previous table represents a significant improvement over conventional metal racks, it still encounters some problems because it utilizes plywood shelves. A high level of precision is required to construct shelves that fit the molded receptacles of the plastic posts perfectly. If the plywood is not cut carefully and precisely, it will likely not properly fit the post and must be discarded and re-cut. This can result in considerable waste. It can also require additional time, labor and expense to correct and complete assembly of the table. Even when properly cut and fitted, plywood shelves do not provide an optimally strong support. Over time, such shelves tend to weather, age, warp and/or deteriorate.